


Flight Risk

by TheCarrot



Series: Outcasts [1]
Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Ezekiel fixes him, Gen, Stumpy lives, and then keeps him as a pet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-10 18:56:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15955451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCarrot/pseuds/TheCarrot
Summary: Ezekiel never meant to do a lot of things: Get caught. Get caught by Flynn. Have Baird find his file, etc... He also never meant to let a sad looking gargoyle steal his heart.But you know, accidents happen.





	Flight Risk

**Author's Note:**

> This is very old, also very short... But I hope you enjoy. There are two more at least, I think, to come.

Despite the numerous times Jenkins tells them not to look a gargoyle in the eye, Ezekiel realizes he could never, not in a million years have ignored the way the poor thing sat, listless and alone on that ledge. He looks at the rough stone carving and smiles at it, hearing the small whine of happiness in reply. 

Those eyes are just too much of a reminder of himself. 

Back when he was looking into that puddle when he was nine years old in the scariest parts of Sydney, thinking to himself that he’ll be ignored and bypassed for the rest of his short life; and while that may be good for his thieving, it always made his heart clench and hurt. There was always something akin to desperation seething in him back then, and now, Ezekiel looks Stumpy dead in the eye, tells him to stay with a smile because everything, no matter how small and how annoying, needs to be asked to stay once in its life. 

He’d know that better than anyone.

He calls it a good boy, his heart telling him that neither of them have been called that with meaning before.

Ezekiel cradles the broken pieces of Stumpy, choruses of ‘you idiot’ and ‘why why why’ echoing through his head. Even though he knows why, because if someone would have smiled at him way back then, he would have jumped in front of a monster octopus for them too. It only takes the thief a moment to empty out his satchel and to start loading it down with the pieces of stone.

Jake is behind him still, giving him the weirdest looks before silently getting out of the golf cart to help him. 

Bag ladened down the two meet up with Baird, but no Cassandra, and head back to the Annex. Ezekiel doesn’t stop moving once he’s through the back door, just shifting the head and part of the stone wing in his grasp as he makes to leave.

Behind him he can hear Jenkins mutter in exasperation, “You brought the pieces back, why in the world...” but Ezekiel just ignores him.

Later on, when he gets to his safe house - just house, he really should start calling it his house by now- even if it is actually a large apartment on the top floor of a four storey complex.

He shoves parts of his computers aside at his desk and spends the next several hours getting most of Stumpy’s head and wings put back together; he has help from a modified reconstruction spell and some magic glue he happily acquired as payment after doing a favour for a pair of demigods shortly after Peru. Faint whining can be heard coming from the gargoyle and Ezekiel reaches out to brush a tired hand over Stumpy’s head. It’s only then that he notices the bruises wrapping up his arm from the tentacle and the thief sighs heavily, picking up the head of the sad eyed stone creature. 

“Listen to me mate, never do that again, do you hear me?” Ezekiel mutters with a curse, “Give me a freaking heart attack. My life is not worth more than yours you wanker.” 

Stumpy merely huffs and Ezekiel watches the smile grow slowly on the creatures face. The thief wraps his arms around Stumpy’s head and leans over onto the table, resting his own head down next to the gargoyles. It’s the closest thing to a hug he can give at the moment but Ezekiel doesn’t think that Stumpy will mind. 

“You’re staying here now, no more campuses for you, too much of a flight risk...” Ezekiel sighs into the table as he feels unconsciousnes start to weight him down. The wing next to him moves slightly to drape over Ezekiel’s elbow and together the two of them sleep at the desk until the sun rises the next morning.

—

It takes Ezekiel almost three full days to put Stumpy back together again, mostly because they’re called out on a case involving glow in the dark bunnies that could breath fire, and no, it was not as awesome as it sounded. (No one had appreciated his Monty Python jokes either. Numerous as they were…)

However Ezekiel smiles widely when he attaches the last piece of Stumpy’s tail, the magic glue glowing brightly only to fade moments later leaving behind no trace of any break save what had already been there for years. 

Ezekiel feels a well of happiness settle in his throat. 

True to his word he keeps Stumpy at his safe house- house, just house- and lets the gargoyle have free range through his entire apartment. Ezekiel only comes back to broken dishes once and finds Stumpy hunched over on top of the bookcase he had installed a week prior when he, Cassandra and Stone had gotten back from Oklahoma. He smiles softly, coaxing the gargoyle down and lets Stumpy sit on the counter as he cleans up the few broken dishes before taking a beer and the statue out to the balcony.

It’s he calmest moment he’s had for the past three months, Ezekiel figures; being able to sit back on the old rusty patio set that had come with the place, one hand holding his beer while the other rests at Stumpy’s side, the gargoyle curled up next to him in the fading strands of sunlight that coat the city with a sleepy orange glow.


End file.
